Recipe: salmon with lemon and potato gratin
We’re fans of dishes that let you steal the show without any stress and are so delicious that everyone keeps asking you to make them again and again. This salmon with lemon and potato gratin is one of those dishes. And your oven does most of the work, which is nice, right?
Showstopper from the oven
Nagi: “This is quite a showstopper, if I do say so myself. This dish is fantastic in every way! The potato gratin goes into the oven first while the salmon sits in a marinade of lemon and garlic. Then you place the fish on the potato gratin and, while the salmon fillets cook, their delicious juices seep into the creamy, cheesy layers of potato underneath. By the time the gratin is ready, the salmon is perfectly cooked. And as if the convenience of two dishes in one weren’t enough, this recipe makes more gratin than you need. That means you’ll have leftovers for lunch that people will fight over. I told you it was fantastic, didn’t I?“
How to make salmon with lemon and potato gratin
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
- Slice the potatoes – Peel the potatoes and slice them 3 mm thick. This is quick and easy with a mandoline, but you can also show off your knife skills.
- Bake the potatoes – Spread one-third of the slices over a baking dish (23 x 33 cm), followed by one-third each of the cream, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic and cheese. Repeat this twice. Dot the butter over the top. Cover the gratin with aluminium foil and bake it in the oven for 80-90 minutes, until the potatoes are tender (check this with the tip of a knife).
- Marinate the salmon – Meanwhile, mix the marinade ingredients in a small bowl; you need a spreadable paste that stays on the salmon. Brush the marinade over the salmon fillets (not on the underside). Leave them to marinate on a plate while the gratin is in the oven.
- Grill the gratin – As soon as the potatoes are tender, set the oven to its highest grill setting, with the oven rack 25 cm below the grill element. Remove the aluminium foil and grill the potato gratin for 3 minutes, until lightly browned.
- Bake the salmon – Place the salmon fillets on the gratin and return the baking dish under the grill. Grill everything for 10 minutes, until the visible part of the gratin is golden brown and the salmon fillets have a core temperature of 50 °C for medium rare (ideally juicy) or 60 °C for medium; use a meat thermometer*5 for this.
- Serve – Remove the baking dish from the oven and place the salmon fillets directly on plates. Let them rest for 3 minutes and serve with portions of potato gratin, optionally sprinkled with fresh thyme
A few useful notes
- You can also use other fish fillets of the same weight. If you have salmon fillets with the skin on, leave the skin on for extra flavour and eat only the fish flesh.
- Waxy potatoes are not suitable for this.
- If you don’t have a garlic press, finely chop the garlic and press it into a paste with the side of a knife.
- You can use any melting cheese, but Gruyère definitely has the best flavour for gratin. Cheddar and Emmental are suitable alternatives. If you use mozzarella, mix it with 30 grams of finely grated Parmesan for extra flavour.
- After resting, the salmon’s core temperature rises to 53 °C. It is then medium rare and at its juiciest. This is how salmon is served in restaurants. For medium salmon, aim for a core temperature of 60 °C, which rises to 63 °C after resting. The salmon will still be juicy, but medium rare is juicier! (You can probably guess my preference…)
Storage: Keeps for three days in the refrigerator and three months in the freezer.
Cookbook: RecipeTin Eats: TONIGHT
Whether you want to make a quick weeknight meal or pull out all the stops with a dinner that blows your guests away, RecipeTin Eats: TONIGHT by Nagi Maehashi is always a good choice. This cookbook is packed with irresistible crowd-pleasers. Think ground beef with honey and ginger, roasted cauliflower with cheese sauce or pasta with feta and asparagus. From dishes that are on the table within 20 minutes to recipes that let you steal the show without any stress, every evening will be a success with this book.
Title: RecipeTin Eats: TONIGHT
Author: Nagi Maehashi
Price: €32,99
Publisher: Spectrum
Publication date: 25 March
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